Congestion Charge: Will London's Risky Gamble Work?

"Those few cities that have successfully introduced charges have sweetened drivers with trade-offs such as better roads or lower taxes. All London’s mayor is offering is a better bus service, financed by the £120m net annual revenues expected from the charge...Since Britain is Europe’s most congested country (see first chart) such a scheme has as good a chance of being accepted in London as anywhere in the world...If it fails, says Rome’s traffic chief, Maurizio Thomassini, urban congestion charging will be set back for a decade....One Californian trial has shown that a hybrid approach, using both regulation and price, can be effective."